U.S. Delegation Arrives in Cuba

Cuba's President Raul Castro on Tuesday welcomed a delegation of US lawmakers, the first to come to Communist Cuba since US President Barack Obama's re-election, state media reported.

"Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla took part in the meeting, and issues of interest to both countries were addressed," a statement read out on the government news broadcast said, AFP reported.

The US legislators were in Havana to meet with Cuban officials and hope to visit American contractor Alan Gross who was jailed for distributing laptops and satellite phones, diplomatic sources said earlier.

"We will look forward to the results of their diplomacy on his behalf and, more broadly, with regard to all of our concerns about Cuba" on human rights and other issues, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.